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Homeland Security Investigation Leads To $294K Cocaine Bust In PA Homeland Security Investigation Leads To $294K Cocaine Bust In PA
Homeland Security Investigation Leads To $294K Cocaine Bust In PA A joint investigation with Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) led to the arrest of a Columbia man and the seizure of more than $294,000 worth of cocaine and marijuana, the Lancaster County Drug Task Force announced on Thursday, Nov. 21, 2024. Roderick Gonzalez-Perez, of the 800 block of Blunston Street, was arrested on Oct. 4 after authorities intercepted a package containing over five kilograms of cocaine en route to his home from Puerto Rico. The package, addressed to “Senior Perez,” was flagged during transit, prompting a collaborative investigation by the Drug Task Force and HSI. Af…

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by Jillian Pikora
Weather
Newly Named Tropical Storm Sara Forms: Here's Latest Newly Named Tropical Storm Sara Forms: Here's Latest
Newly Named Tropical Storm Sara Forms: Here's Latest There's a brand-new tropical storm with just two weeks remaining in the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season. A system in the central Caribbean Sea called Tropical Depression 19 was upgraded to Tropical Storm Sara on Thursday afternoon, Nov. 14. It's now moving westward toward Central America.  Tropical storm warnings are in effect for parts of Honduras and Nicaragua.  "Residents in these areas should monitor the storm's progress and follow local advisories," the National Hurricane Center said. Current projections have the storm headed to Florida on Wednesday, Nov. 20. (See the …

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by Joe Lombardi
News
Costco Raising Membership Fees In US, Canada Costco Raising Membership Fees In US, Canada
Costco Raising Membership Fees In US, Canada The Costco Wholesale Corporation has announced membership hikes in the US and Canada for the first time in seven years, according to a news release by the company issued on Wednesday, July 10.  Costco opened the release sharing a June sales growth in the US of 5.6%, which is higher than the past 44 weeks of just 4.4%, the company experienced a decrease in revenue internationally.  On the heels of sharing that news, the company made the announcement about raising the membership fees in both the US and Canada beginning Sept. 1.  Annual memberships are rising $5 making them $65…

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by Jillian Pikora
Police & Fire
Trafficker Who Mailed Hundreds Of Pounds Of Coke From PR To South Jersey, Philly Gets 10 Years Trafficker Who Mailed Hundreds Of Pounds Of Coke From PR To South Jersey, Philly Gets 10 Years
Trafficker Who Mailed Hundreds Of Pounds Of Coke From PR To South Jersey, Philly Gets 10 Years 𝗨𝗣𝗗𝗔𝗧𝗘: A manager of a crew that purchased hundreds of pounds of cocaine in Puerto Rico that they shipped to South Jersey and Philadelphia via overnight mail was sentenced to a plea-bargained 10 years in federal prison. Philly resident Jose Gonzalez, 51, and his co-conspirators flew to San Juan on dozens of commercial flights from Philadelphia International Airport, U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Phillip Sellinger said. They paid cash there for multi-kilo quantities of coke, then used overnight delivery from U.S. Post Office branches in San Juan to ship it to various addresses in Philade…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Federal Inmate In Pennsylvania Pleads Guilty To Assaulting Officer: USDOJ Federal Inmate In Pennsylvania Pleads Guilty To Assaulting Officer: USDOJ
Federal Inmate In Pennsylvania Pleads Guilty To Assaulting Officer: Usdoj A federal inmate in Schuylkill County pleaded guilty to attacking a correctional officer on Monday, April 29, according to prosecutors.  The US Attorney's Office said Carlos Rodriguez-Cruz, 33, punched a guard at FCI Schuylkill in Minersville last Oct. 6.  According to authorities, the guard found a homemade knife or "shank" during a search of Rodriguez-Cruz's cell.  Rodriguez-Cruz, formerly of Puerto Rico, faces up to eight years of imprisonment, supervised release, and a fine.  The guilty plea comes just a week after another FCI Schuylkill inmate pleaded guilty …

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by Mac Bullock
News
Pounds Of Cocaine Seized In Pennsylvania Helps Convict Last Member Of Puerto Rican Drug Ring Pounds Of Cocaine Seized In Pennsylvania Helps Convict Last Member Of Puerto Rican Drug Ring
Pounds Of Cocaine Seized In Pennsylvania Helps Convict Last Member Of Puerto Rican Drug Ring The seventh and final member of a drug smuggling ring that ran from Puerto Rico to Pennsylvania — has been convicted, according to a release by the US Department of Justice on Nov. 16.  Moniqua Ramirez, 44, has been found guilty of conspiracy to distribute cocaine, according to U.S. Attorney Gerard M. Karam. She was convicted at the end of a three-day jury trial before U.S. District Court Judge Jennifer P. Wilson on Wednesday, Nov. 15. Ramirez, along with six other Puerto Ricans conspired to smuggle kilograms of cocaine from Puerto Rico into Central Pennsylvania using the US Post…

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by Jillian Pikora
Police & Fire
Man With Ties To Allentown Escapees Police Custody Man With Ties To Allentown Escapees Police Custody
Man With Ties To Allentown Escapees Police Custody A man with Allentown ties who escaped police custody may be on his way back to the area, authorities warn.  Hector Ruben Medina-Pagan, 46, broke out from a transport van in Hazleton on March 24, said the Carbon County Sheriff's Office.  He is wanted on two parole warrants and now has a pending felony escape charge, they added.  Investigators believe he's headed back to Allentown or possibly Puerto Rico.  Medina-Pagan is described as 6-foot, 175 pounds with black hair and brown eyes. Anyone with information is asked to call the Carbon County Sheriff’s Office at 570…

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by Mac Bullock
Weather
Hurricane Lee's Risk To East Coast Rises: New Week-Long Projected Track Hurricane Lee's Risk To East Coast Rises: New Week-Long Projected Track
Hurricane Lee's Risk To East Coast Rises: New Week-Long Projected Track A new week-long projected track for Monster Hurricane Lee has been released as forecasters are now saying its risk to the East Coast has increased. "Hurricane Lee will remain a powerful storm after undergoing rapid intensification," according to a report by AccuWeather.com on Saturday, Sept. 8. "As Lee turns northward next week dangerous surf will develop along the East Coast while the risk for direct impact rises in New England." For a look at Lee's projected path through Saturday, Sept. 16, see the image above. Lee is now a Category 3 hurricane packed with maximum sustained winds of…

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by Joe Lombardi
Weather
New Monster Storm Update: Forecast Models Take Major Hurricane Lee Along East Coast New Monster Storm Update: Forecast Models Take Major Hurricane Lee Along East Coast
New Monster Storm Update: Forecast Models Take Major Hurricane Lee Along East Coast Hurricane Lee has rapidly strengthened with new long-range computer models predicting its eventual path could take it at or near the Northeast. Click here for a new, updated story: Hurricane Lee's Risk To East Coast Rises: New Week-Long Projected Track Lee, now packed with maximum sustained winds of 150 miles per hour, is located over the warm waters of the Central Atlantic, hitting Category 5 status before wind speeds lowered it to Cat 4. It's expected to move over the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico this weekend, according to the National Hurricane Center. Already the st…

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by Joe Lombardi
Police & Fire
2 Suspects Arrested, 1 Wanted For Triple Homicide At Lebanon Playground: DA 2 Suspects Arrested, 1 Wanted For Triple Homicide At Lebanon Playground: DA
2 Suspects Arrested, 1 Wanted For Triple Homicide At Lebanon Playground: DA Details have been released after four people who were shot near a Pennsylvania playground, including two young brothers whose bodies will be transported to Puerto Rico for burial. Jesus Perez-Salome, 8, Sebastian Perez- Salome, 9, and Joshua Lugo-Perez, 19, all of Lebanon have been identified as the victims of the deadly shooting near a home and a playground in the 400 block of North 5th Street around 10 p.m. on Tuesday, May 30, 2023.  UPDATE: The third suspected killer and his girlfriend have been arrested. You can read more about their arrests here.  Jesus died on the back porch of his …

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by Jillian Pikora
Police & Fire
Support Rises For Brothers Killed In Lebanon Shooting Support Rises For Brothers Killed In Lebanon Shooting
Support Rises For Brothers Killed In Lebanon Shooting Support is surging for two brothers who were fatally shot, along with a 19-year-old man and a 33-year-old man who was wounded, at a Lebanon playground on Tuesday, May 30, 2023. More than $2,800 had been raised as of Wednesday, May 31 for the family of Jesus Perez-Salome, 8, and Sebastian Perez-Salome, 9, on a GoFundMe page. Funds raised will go toward transporting the boys' bodies to Puerto Rico. The other victim who was killed was identified as Joshua Lugo-Perez, 19, and Luis Cancel, 33, was recovering at the hospital after surgery, officials said. The children were elementary …

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by Jillian Pikora
News
PA Woman Missing For Over 30 Years Found Alive In Puerto Rico: Authorities PA Woman Missing For Over 30 Years Found Alive In Puerto Rico: Authorities
PA Woman Missing For Over 30 Years Found Alive In Puerto Rico: Authorities A missing street preacher from Pennsylvania has been "found alive and well" in Puerto Rico, authorities announced in a press conference on Thursday, March 2, 2023.  Patricia "Pat" Gail Kopta, had not been seen since June 20, 1992, and her husband Robert "Bob" Kopta reported her missing on Nov. 27 of that year, according to the police.  She had a history of mental health issues and had disappeared before, so although there were rumors of a mugging and her jewelry being stolen, the police say family and friends knew she was looking for mental health treatment and her disappearance "…

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by Jillian Pikora
Police & Fire
Fentanyl, Cocaine Worth $4.3M Seized In Takedown Of Massive PA Drug Ring, DA Says Fentanyl, Cocaine Worth $4.3M Seized In Takedown Of Massive PA Drug Ring, DA Says
Fentanyl, Cocaine Worth $4.3M Seized In Takedown Of Massive PA Drug Ring, DA Says Nearly thirty people are facing criminal charges after authorities dismantled a "large-scale" operation that trafficked drugs from Mexico and Puerto Rico to Pennsylvania, with nearly $4.3 million worth of fentanyl and cocaine seized as evidence, authorities said. In an early-morning roundup on Thursday, Dec. 1, a total of 22 adults were taken into custody, said Berks District Attorney John T. Adams and Montgomery District Attorney Kevin R. Steele in a joint statement.  Posted by Berks County District Attorney on Thursday, December 1, 2022 Posted by Berks County District Attorney on T…

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by Mac Bullock
Weather
Cold Front Will Bring Change In Weather Pattern As New Storm System Develops In Atlantic Cold Front Will Bring Change In Weather Pattern As New Storm System Develops In Atlantic
Cold Front Will Bring Change In Weather Pattern As New Storm System Develops In Atlantic A springlike stretch of weather will finally come to an end as a cold front moves through the region followed by potential impacts from a storm system developing in the Atlantic. The cold front is gradually approaching on Sunday, Nov. 6, and will move through on Monday, Nov. 7, according to the National Weather Service. Before the front pushes through, high temperatures will rise into the 70s on both Sunday and Monday.  On Sunday, there will be light showers at times, especially in areas farther west, said the weather service, which noted that the chance of showers will expand overnig…

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by Joe Lombardi
Weather
Areas Of Interest In Atlantic Being Monitored As Hurricane Season Nears Final Month Areas Of Interest In Atlantic Being Monitored As Hurricane Season Nears Final Month
Areas Of Interest In Atlantic Being Monitored As Hurricane Season Nears Final Month Multiple areas of interest in the Atlantic basin are being closely monitored by forecasters as the 2022 Atlantic hurricane season nears its final month. Lisa is the next name on the list that meteorologists are using to name tropical storms for the hurricane season, which ends on Wednesday, Nov. 30. Showers and thunderstorms have decreased in association with a well-defined area of low pressure located just west-northwest of Bermuda, the NOAA National Hurricane Center said on Tuesday, Oct. 25.  AccuWeather.com is referring to the system as a tropical rainstorm and said it is lik…

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by Joe Lombardi
News
Heavy Luggage: Ringleader Gets 10 Years For Smuggling 330 Pounds Of Coke Into Teterboro Airport Heavy Luggage: Ringleader Gets 10 Years For Smuggling 330 Pounds Of Coke Into Teterboro Airport
Heavy Luggage: Ringleader Gets 10 Years For Smuggling 330 Pounds Of Coke Into Teterboro Airport A Puerto Rican resident who coordinated a private shipment of more than 300 pounds of cocaine into Teterboro Airport is headed to federal prison for a mandatory 10 years. Mariano Enrique Arroyo Perez – also known as “Humilde” – took a deal from the government rather than risk a trial. He’ll have to serve out the entire plea-bargained term because there’s no parole in the federal prison system. The scheme involved smuggling more than a quarter-ton of cocaine into the United States on private planes flying into the small local airport in Bergen County from 2017 through July 2019, U.S. Attorne…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Gunman Wanted In Reading Homicide Nabbed In Puerto Rico Gunman Wanted In Reading Homicide Nabbed In Puerto Rico
Gunman Wanted In Reading Homicide Nabbed In Puerto Rico A 20-year-old Pennsylvania man was arrested in Puerto Rico Friday, Aug. 19 in connection with the killing of a Reading man last month, officials said. Luis Cepeda-Morales aka “Oriel" is accused of shooting Edwin Rivera-Valentin on the 400 block of Spring Garden Street on Sunday, July 31, Reading police said. Rivera-Valentin was pronounced dead at the scene, authorities said. Cepeda-Morales was identified as the gunman and later charged with first and third-degree murder, aggravated assault and recklessly endangering another person. Berks County District Attorney John T. Adams has approve…

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by Nicole Acosta
News
House Agrees To Legalize Weed, But Don’t Fire One Up Just Yet House Agrees To Legalize Weed, But Don’t Fire One Up Just Yet
House Agrees To Legalize Weed, But Don’t Fire One Up Just Yet It was only 16 months ago that the U.S. House of Representatives approved the nation’s first attempted repeal of federal marijuana laws. Then nothing happened. Over in the Senate, then-Sen. Kamala Harris introduced a similar bill that metaphorically died on the vine. The House on April Fools' Day again agreed to legalize weed, taking the nation back to lawmakers' December 2020 attempt to toss the federal pot ban. Let's be blunt: The result will most likely be the same. Only a few Republicans joined the House majority in Friday’s 220-204 House vote to remove reefer from the 1970 Controlled…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Latin King Going Back To Prison After Shipping Cocaine From Puerto Rico To Pennsylvania: USDOJ Latin King Going Back To Prison After Shipping Cocaine From Puerto Rico To Pennsylvania: USDOJ
Latin King Going Back To Prison After Shipping Cocaine From Puerto Rico To Pennsylvania: Usdoj A member of the Latin Kings who once served prison time for supplying heroin and cocaine to drug dealers across the mid-Atlantic region will soon be back behind bars for a similar crime, authorities said.Hector Castro-Padro, 36, of York, was recently sentenced to six years in prison after trying to smuggle a box containing a kilogram of cocaine from Puerto Rico to York, Pennsylvania via US mail in November 2019, according to a release by the US Department of Justice. Authorities caught him when he collected the box from the mail, United States Attorney John C. Gurganus said. …

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by Daily Voice
News
4 Men Arrested For Selling Fentanyl-Laced Heroin To Actor Michael K. Williams 4 Men Arrested For Selling Fentanyl-Laced Heroin To Actor Michael K. Williams
4 Men Arrested For Selling Fentanyl-Laced Heroin To Actor Michael K. Williams Four men have been arrested and charged in connection with the fatal overdose death of actor Michael K. Williams, according to a release by the US Department of Justice. All four men were taken into custody on Tuesday– including one defendant who was arrested in Puerto Rico, according to the news release. Williams, 54, died of acute drug intoxication Sept. 6, according to the New York City medical examiner's office. The office previously ruled the death accidental and no foul play was suspected according to statements by law enforcement in the days and weeks following his death. Three o…

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by Jillian Pikora
News
MURDER IN MADRID: NJ-Born Tycoon Poisoned, Robbed In Hotel Room, Authorities Say MURDER IN MADRID: NJ-Born Tycoon Poisoned, Robbed In Hotel Room, Authorities Say
Murder IN Madrid: Nj-born Tycoon Poisoned, Robbed In Hotel Room, Authorities Say A New Jersey-born yacht company tycoon was robbed and killed by men he’d invited back to his luxury hotel room in Madrid, authorities there said. Investigators at first believed that José Rosado, 43, died of natural causes after combining drugs and alcohol. Charges on his credit card led them in another direction, however. Authorities in Madrid on Monday arrested two men accused of killing Rosado with a fatal dose of Ecstasy during a robbery at the luxurious Westin Palace Hotel on Oct. 29 and then going on a shopping spree with his AmEx card. One of the defendants, from Morocco, had 1…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
HERO: Rookie TSA Officer Revives Choking Baby At Newark Airport HERO: Rookie TSA Officer Revives Choking Baby At Newark Airport
Hero: Rookie TSA Officer Revives Choking Baby At Newark Airport A 2-month-old boy had stopped breathing and was red-faced when a young mother at the Newark Airport security checkpoint screamed for help. TSA Officer Cecilia Morales had barely been on the job two months when she heard the commotion at Terminal C and began shouting instructions. "They just kept passing the baby around probably because they were panicking," Morales's fiancé told Daily Voice. Morales, a Newark resident who's been an EMT in North Jersey more than a decade, then vaulted a checkpoint conveyer belt, took the child and placed him face down on her arm, TSA spokesperson Lisa Farb…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
'Heavy Luggage' Bust: Puerto Rican Man Admits Plot To Smuggle 330 Pounds Of Coke Into Teterboro 'Heavy Luggage' Bust: Puerto Rican Man Admits Plot To Smuggle 330 Pounds Of Coke Into Teterboro
'Heavy Luggage' Bust: Puerto Rican Man Admits Plot To Smuggle 330 Pounds Of Coke Into Teterboro A Puerto Rican resident admitted coordinating a private shipment of more than 300 pounds of cocaine into Teterboro Airport, federal authorities said. Mariano Enrique Arroyo Perez, 29, took a deal from the government rather than risk a trial, pleading guilty Tuesday in federal court in Newark to conspiring to distribute five or more kilos of coke, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig said. The conspiracy unraveled after four men not on the manifest boarded a private Teterboro-bound plane in Puerto Rico with "particularly heavy" luggage, raising the pilots' suspicions, Honig said. Investiga…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Pagans Leader From Long Island Gets Nearly 3 Years For Gun Found In NJ Stop Following PA Party Pagans Leader From Long Island Gets Nearly 3 Years For Gun Found In NJ Stop Following PA Party
Pagans Leader From Long Island Gets Nearly 3 Years For Gun Found In NJ Stop Following PA Party UPDATE: The former national president of the Pagans was sentenced Thursday to a plea-bargained 33 months in federal prison for having a gun while returning home through New Jersey from a party in Pennsylvania. Keith Richter – a 62-year-old ex-con known as “Conan the Barbarian” – was returning to his Bay Shore (Suffolk County) home from a Pagan's Motorcycle Club party in Lancaster, PA when he was stopped in Mercer County this past February. Police found him carrying a loaded .45-caliber Ruger P345 handgun, Acting U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Rachael A. Honig said. Rather than risk trial, Ri…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Feds: Angry JetBlue Passenger Rushes Cockpit, Chokes Attendant, Begs To Be Shot Feds: Angry JetBlue Passenger Rushes Cockpit, Chokes Attendant, Begs To Be Shot
Feds: Angry JetBlue Passenger Rushes Cockpit, Chokes Attendant, Begs To Be Shot A JetBlue passenger who was upset when he had trouble making a phone call had to be restrained after he tried to storm the cockpit and choke a flight attendant who intercepted him, federal authorities said. Flight 261 from Boston to Puerto Rico was 45 minutes or so from landing late Wednesday when Khalil El Dahr “became angry" about a phone call not going through, an FBI affidavit on file in U.S. District Court in San Juan says. El Dahr, who was sitting in the sixth row, rushed the cockpit, yelling in Spanish and Arabic for someone to shoot him, it says. A flight attendant tried to stop El…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Pagans Motorcycle Gang Leader From Long Island Takes Plea On NJ Gun Charge Following PA Party Pagans Motorcycle Gang Leader From Long Island Takes Plea On NJ Gun Charge Following PA Party
Pagans Motorcycle Gang Leader From Long Island Takes Plea On NJ Gun Charge Following PA Party The former national president of the outlaw Pagans motorcycle gang took a guilty plea in federal court on Wednesday after police caught him with a gun in New Jersey while returning to his Long Island home from a party in Pennsylvania. Keith Richter – a 62-year-old ex-con known as “Conan the Barbarian” – was returning to his Bay Shore (Suffolk County) home from a Pagan's Motorcycle Club party in Lancaster, PA when he was stopped in Mercer County on Feb. 20. Police found him carrying a loaded .45-caliber Ruger P345 handgun, Acting U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Rachael A. Honig said. Rath…

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by Jerry DeMarco